Billboard Music Awards

Celine Dion had no clue her 15-year-old son would be presenting her ICON Award at the Billboard Music Awards ... even though producers talked about it right in front of her.

That's because they used a code word for Rene-Charles during rehearsals. Our production sources tell us Celine's son was referred to as "the package" all weekend. This was the first time he had been to one of his mother's award shows ... which added to the surprise for Celine, we're told.

For keeping the secret, the teenager scored an awesome reward -- a backstage pic with Rihanna.

Oh, and Mom was really happy. That was good too.

Madonna just paid respect to the Purple One in epic fashion ... bringing out Stevie Wonder for a duet of Prince's famous track.

With the Billboard Music Awards dripping in purple ... Madge and Stevie would've made him proud.

Kesha is prepping for a "statement performance" at the Billboard Music Awards and Dr. Luke will be the prime focus ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Kesha tell us the singer is gearing up for a marquee performance during the live May 22 show on ABC from Las Vegas. We're told she's planning to make direct references to her ongoing legal battle with Dr. Luke ... and might even include images of him.

She might have already given us a taste of what's to come after a not-so-subtle reference to the Sony producer when she covered Lady Gaga's "Til It Happens To You" last week.

Considering she's going to have a network TV audience ... it's a bold move, and one you know Dr. Luke will be watching closely.

Kanye West is pissed off at the Billboard Awards for heavily censoring his performance of "All Day" and "Black Skinhead" because he says they cut his audio even when he wasn't dropping profanities.

Kanye's mostly-silenced closing act was the talk of the award show -- but sources close to the rapper tell us producers knew when he was going to curse because he gave them the lyrics exactly as he performed them ... and yet they yanked his audio for up to 15 seconds at a time.

Our sources point out that during "Black Skinhead" a lot of clean lyrics were censored. For instance, the lines -- "My leather black jeans on" ... and "Middle America" were dropped. In other cases, it appears the censor had an itchy trigger finger, and pulled the audio several seconds early.

As we reported ... Kanye did not attend final rehearsal -- but we're told that's because doctors had him on vocal rest. He even needed a cortisone shot over the weekend. Still, he did 2 rehearsals in L.A. earlier in the week for Billboard.

As for the fact you couldn't see Kanye -- we're told he gave producers a specific note about changing lighting and camera angles so he was more visible. We're told Yeezy's a perfectionist when it comes to his final product, and feels like they screwed him.

Jennifer Lopez threw a ton of shade at Mariah Carey ... by burying her head in her smartphone while MC was hitting high notes onstage at the Billboard Music Awards -- and the video is epic.

You've gotta see it -- while Mariah was singing "Infinity" ... J. Lo was casually scrolling through her phone, barely even glancing at the stage.

Even as Taylor Swift and the rest of the audience burst into applause for Mimi ... J.Lo chatted up Casper Smart from their front row seats. Jennifer's no fool though -- when the house lights went up at the end of Mimi's act, then and only then did she give her a hand.

It's hysterical -- you get the feeling Mariah could have been on fire and J.Lo wouldn't give a crap.

Kanye West totally blindsided Billboard Music Awards producers when he performed the n-word laced version of his hit, "All Day" ... and forced the censors to stand on the audio dump button.

Production sources at the award show tell TMZ ... Kanye never did a dress rehearsal of the song, so they just expected him to be on his best behavior, and perform a clean version. One source said, "He knew it was national TV."

We're guessing that's exactly the point, and Kanye knew exactly what he was doing.

Think about it ... his closing act is the one everyone's talking about -- even though they couldn't hear or see most of it.

The production source told us ... "He's Kanye. What are we supposed to do?"

Kanye West gave ABC censors a collective heart attack Sunday night at the Billboard Music Awards -- because the rapper dropped so many n-words ... most of his act was dead silence.

Kanye closed the show with his hit, "All Day" -- but about all you could hear on TV was the song's title. Censors killed the audio for so much of the song ... you're really left wondering -- why bother? The censoring went as long as 15 solid seconds at times.

Plus, you could barely SEE Yeezy through all the fireworks and smoke. Again ... why bother?

One thing you could hear clearly -- the boos for Kylie and Kendall Jenner as they introduced their bro-in-law.

Harry Styles paid tribute to 1D, as in ... DEEZ NUTS ... in Las Vegas.

One Direction won the Billboard Music Award for Top Duo/Group, and Harry celebrated by slyly grabbing a hold -- playfully and gently, we hope -- of bandmate Niall Horan's balls.

Watch ... Niall plays it off pretty good.

Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris are a lot closer than expected at the Billboard Music Awards -- and he got the full GFE after she won an award.

Ok, Calvin wasn't the first person she hugged after winning Top Billboard 200 Album -- but he IS the only one who got an extended hug combined with a neck snuggle. They haven't exactly been undercover, but this qualifies as a full couple coming out.

5:55 PM PT -- Crisis averted. Mariah performed 2 songs -- "Vision of Love" and her new hit, "Infinity." Not only did she show up ... she NAILED one of the closing notes. Like, old school Mariah ... nailed it.

Mariah Carey knows how to cause a mass panic -- she bailed on her final rehearsal before the Billboard Music Awards, which air LIVE in a few hours -- but Mimi's got one word for the haters ... CHILL.

TMZ has learned BMA producers are scrambling because they don't know what's going on with Mariah -- especially on the heels of her bronchitis issues earlier this week. Our BMA sources say the other reason for concern is ... it's been 17 years since she was last on the award show.

But our Mariah sources are laughing off the panic, because producers shouldn't be shocked at all. As one source put it, "Nobody does dress [rehearsal]. WTF?? No big stars go ... ever."

It's true, you'd think award shows are old hat for a vet like Mariah. Plus, she performed as scheduled last night at Caesars Palace, and seemed fine.

As for what happens tonight on live TV? Stay tuned ...

Taylor Swift's playing the old music game -- make your fans think you're single, 'cause it's good for business -- and that may be why she'll sit 2 seats away from her boo at Sunday's Billboard Music Awards.

Taylor and Calvin Harris have been seen together in public showing lots of affection, but we're told Taylor requested that several of her friends form a human barrier between her and the famous DJ.

Apparently she wants to have interaction without reaction.

Miguel won't be celebrating the 2nd anniversary of his disastrous Billboard Music Awards performance -- unless he wants to raise a glass to the fan who's suing him for crash landing on her in Las Vegas.

One of the women who claimed to be injured during Miguel's infamous failed stage leap has finally lawyered up -- and in her lawsuit, Cindy Tsai says she took the brunt when Miguel came up short and landed on her head. She says her cabeza met the catwalk ... hard.

Tsai is suing Miguel -- as well as the MGM Grand Hotel, where the event was held -- for negligence and is seeking damages to cover medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Another woman had considered suing for the incident ... but it looks like she never did.

Robin Thicke sang his heart out at the Billboard Music Awards ... begging for estranged wife Paula Patton's forgiveness -- and also gave a random woman in the crowd a face full of his crotch. Bad timing?

As TMZ first reported, Thicke penned the song "Get Her Back" specifically to try and win back Patton ... with lyrics like "All I wanna do is make it right" and "I'll wait for forever for you."

The song was catchy and filled with the requisite amount of pleading but at the end of the song he made the poor choice to drop to his knees and pump his hips at a cute chick in the front row.

Kendall Jenner was doing just fine during her introduction of 5 Seconds of Summer during last night's Billboard Music Awards ... when suddenly words became her enemy and the whole thing went to hell.

Jenner got through the first part without a hiccup, but suddenly got thrown off track ... which led to her blurting out, "Guys, I'm the worst reader!"

Jenner took to Twitter afterwards and seemed to blame her eyesight for the debacle, writing, "Anndddd as if I wasn't nervous already!!!! #NeverLeavinMyContactsAtHomeAgain! #LOL #LessonLearned"

Better luck next time.

A hologram performance by Michael Jackson -- the main event at Sunday's Billboard Music Awards -- could be put to sleep before it even hits the stage ... thanks to a last-minute lawsuit.

Alki David -- who says he controls the rights to the hologram technology -- filed suit late Thursday against the Michael Jackson Estate, MJ's production company and Dick Clark Productions ... to stop them from showing a hologram of Michael using David's technology.

According to the suit -- obtained by TMZ -- a life-size, projected 3D image of Michael will showcase a never-before-released Jackson song, "Slave to the Rhythm."

The MJ spectacle is similar to the Tupac Shakur hologram at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival ... which David claims was based on the same technology.

David says if Billboard goes ahead with the Jackson performance Sunday ... it will destroy his plans for a similar, high-profile holographic MJ performance. He wants a judge to stop it ... STAT.

Howard Weitzman, the lawyer for the MJ Estate, tells TMZ, "This is another Alki David stunt, no different than his claiming that Brandon Howard was Michael Jackson's son. It is ludicrous ... and the show goes on."

Robin Thicke is so desperate to get his wife back ... he WROTE A NEW SONG about it -- including the lyrics "I should've kissed you longer / I should've held you stronger" -- and TMZ has learned he'll debut it live on stage ... at the Billboard Music Awards.

TMZ has obtained a copy of the lyrics for the new song -- called "Get Her Back" -- and the whole thing is dripping with regret over his split from Paula Patton.

Some highlights:
-- "All I wanna do is make it right"
-- "I gotta get her, go get her back / I gotta treat her right / I gotta cherish her for life"
-- "I should've kissed you longer / I should've held you stronger / And I'll wait for forever for you."

Robin's other public pleas to Paula -- opening up during concerts about forgiveness -- have fallen on deaf ears.

If at first you don't succeed ... beg in front of a national TV audience Sunday night at 8:00 PM on ABC.